Neon Genesis Evangelion Elevator Scene

About

Neon Genesis Evangelion Elevator Scene refers to an infamous moment from episode 22 of the anime franchise Neon Genesis Evangelion and appears later on in the Netflix rebuild saga. The scene, a ride in the elevator between Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley, is infamous in the fandom and has received different styles of memes and edits to it since it's debut.

Origin

Appearing in the 22nd episode of the original run, the elevator scene is infamous within the fanbase for having just over a minute of an uninterrupted static image where the two characters are seen in their respective opposite ends of the elevator. After a minute, an argument takes place between them which leads to Asuka slapping Rei before stepping out of the elevator and continuing a monologue that gives deeper insight into her character. On May 25th, 2023, the YouTuber ________^[1] uploaded the entire scene in it's original format from 1996, where it earned over 235,000 views in one year (shown below).

The elevator scene was controversial within the fanbase, with many hating the minute of silence leading into the confrontation, and others liking it as a build-up to an important moment for both characters. Within Neon Genesis Evangelion, the elevator scene has four different versions: one from the original TV run in 1996, the Death & Rebirth OVA, the 2003 DVD release of the TV run with slight edits, and the Rebuild Saga. On June 26th, 2019, the YouTuber TeeLeaf^[2] uploaded a comparison video in which the three major versions of the elevator scene are shown, earning over 3.3 million views in five years (shown below).

Spread

Within the fanbase, the elevator scene has two different ways of being used in memes. On July 7th, 2019, the YouTuber Anion^[3] uploaded an edited version of the meme in which Asuka and Rei do the scene from You Have Uno, going back and forth, while gaining over 252,000 views in five years. This inspired a wave of others to create audio replacement memes in which they edit out what Asuka says in response to Rei, then change it to be something else. On April 19th, 2022, the YouTuber Hope^[4] uploaded a version in which Asuka starts to say the opening line to Gangster's Paradise (shown below, left and right).

Another common form of using the elevator scene in memes is to add in other characters to the still image, or to replace Asuka and Rei with other characters who have a high degree of aggressive tension between the two. This is best seen in the art pieces uploaded on September 28th, 2021, and February 3rd, 2022, by the two X artists @centinel303^[5] and @appo777yon^[6] in which Kris and Susie are shown in the elevator in addition to Asuka and Rei (shown below, left and right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References